Creative, Quirky Title to get Your Attention
by Dreams on a Cloud
Summary: It's about a Pokemon and they run into some things they maybe perhaps didn't expect or want to happen. This description is a lot worse than the actual story. Read it, little people.
1. Some Strange Introduction

Hello there, readers. I thank you for at least taking some time out of your day to read what I have written for you. I know you may or may not enjoy this, and I completely understand that, but please, if you would be kind enough to leave constructive criticism, it would be highly appreciated. This is only going to be here once, so don'y worry about having to read it again. Also, this is my first fanfic, so please with me luck. I'll try to update it at least once every other week.

Yes, I know this chapter is on the shorter side, but chances are the ones after this are going to be larger in size.

Also, if you end up confused about this, worry not. Things will be explained more thoroughly in the upcoming chapters.

* * *

The night was at its latest, the full moon high in the sky with its light covering the ground like a blanket without the warmth. The sky was clear, except for the occasional puff of clouds that gently floated over the forest, but they would never end up covering the beauty which is the moon. In fact, it seemed to merely wave off the presence of the clouds like they were nothing, seemingly mocking them as they passed by.

Down on the ground, a Ninetales traveled alone, nervously glancing about for anything else that may have been wandering around. They seemed to have a slight limp to their walk, making itself apparent every time they stepped down on their front right paw. Though, from a first glance, they didn't seem to have any sort of injuries. At least, not on their paw.

Around their whole body laid spots of blood, some of it their own, some of it someone else's. It was all dry at this point, but there still looked to be a lot of it.

At the moment, all the Ninetales really wanted to do was simply give up. They wanted to lie on the ground and die in defeat, but they knew they couldn't. Staying alive wasn't just a fight for their own life, no, it was for others who needed it far more than he did.

Around the Pokémon's neck was a small satchel of the sorts, which bounced about as it hit the legs of the carrier. From the way it bounced, it looked very light, and from the outside, there didn't seem to be anything within the satchel at all, at least nothing that affected the shape of it.

Either way, they didn't seem to be taking any chances with it, and would be defending it, or itself - it was difficult to tell. Maybe it was both - with its life.

But why? Of what importance what this Ninetales and the satchel they carried? They were a simple duo of Pokémon and object; nothing that would be an uncommon occurrence out in the forest.

It was not them that were important. Rather, it was who they were going to see, and what was going to be revealed that was important.

But, something from about twenty feet away would take the Ninetales' mind off the matter of delivering what he was about to deliver. A deep growl, coming from less than twenty meters to their right, which didn't sound particularly friendly. Using what little energy he had left in his system, he broke into a sprint, hoping to lose their pursuiter before the little energy he had left was gone.

* * *

"Just a little closer…" The Weavile muttered from her post in the trees, looking down upon a Ninetales who traveled along the ground. Being a dark type, it was fairly easy to seeing in the darkness that was night, which made doing things like this easy.

Anywho, she wasn't looking to do anything to the injured looking Fox Pokémon unless she really had to. It was the item around their neck that peaked her interest the most. She thought it would be easy: The Ninetales looked to be in a terrible shape, making the possibility of them fighting back little to none. If they did decide to fight back, it probably wouldn't be much of a problem for her anyways, even with the type disadvantage. Win-win situation.

She smiled to herself, mumbling as the Ninetales slow got into her range of jumping. "Three...two...o-" But, as she was about to utter the final number, the Pokémon below her broke into a frantic sprint. Had they somehow noticed her sitting up in the branches of the tree, even with the extreme darkness of the night? Had they simply heard her counting down to herself because she was too confident? She tried to go through it logically. The former seemed out of the question, due to the fact that they simply hadn't looked up, but the latter seemed... a bit more reasonable. She had also noticed their ears perking right before they ran, which would make her theory even more plausible.

The more she had thought about, the more she thought that it was her fault for losing what she was going for.

A loud roar which echoed through the forest would pull her from her thoughts however. Looking down again, she noticed a big draconian creature, which could be compared to that of a living land shark. Perhaps that was the thing that set the Ninetales off, not her. The Garchomp was glaring in the direction the Ninetales had run off in, too, further making her new assumption more reasonable.

She huffed silently to herself. So this had been the reason the Ninetales ran? Obviously, something needed to be done about that; ruining a perfectly good target was not something that you did without getting consequences. At least not with her.

The Gachomp began to go in the general direction that the fox ran in, which the Weavile saw as a perfectly opportunity to strike her opponent for an easy win. At least, so she could get to the Ninetales instead. Quietly climbing down from the tree she was on, she caught up to the Garchomp with surprising speed, and quickly slowed them down with a mist of icy breath they exhaled from their mouth, which effectively slowed them down significantly.

They seemed a bit confused on why their legs weren't responding the way they should of. Glancing around, they noticed that a single, and rather small, slender figure stood behind them, though it was hard to make out what they were. The Garchomp smirked to themselves, turning around to face them. Of course this was going to be easy, wasn't it? Just some stupid idiot looking to pick a fight with someone way out of their league.

"Your dumb ass just made a big mistake." A gruff, deep voice said from the Garchomp, getting himself into a battle stance.

Before he even saw anything coming, there was a sharp, sudden pain coming from his left leg. Looking down upon it, it appeared to be stabbed in three places, all of them relatively close to one another, and there was a good amount of blood pouring from the wounds. Of _course_ he was dealing with something that had blades of some sort. Why wouldn't he?

Looking around again, he noticed whatever had just assaulted him was gone, and he let out a defeated sigh. "Fucker..." He muttered into the darkness, knowing there was probably no one around to hear it. Slowly, he brought himself to the ground, the familiar feeling of unconsciousness washing over him as he shut his eyes.

* * *

Further along. Much, further along, the Ninetales' energy would finally run out as it suddenly collapsed onto the ground, letting out a light grunt as it did so. It weakly looked behind itself, praying to Arceus that they wouldn't see, well, anyone, and were left pleasantly surprised when no one was there.

For a few moments, they just sat, contemplating what they wanted to do next. While its priority was to move on, it noticed that its legs weren't responding at all, probably due to the fact that they had been worked far harder than they should've been. It let out an anxious sigh, a small frown forming across their face.

"This sucks." The male said, glancing around himself slowly to be sure that there was absolutely no one around. "I guess I should relax or something." He thought aloud. "At least, until I can walk again." Wait, that probably wasn't a very smart thing to say aloud. He shook his head slowly, hoping that no one had heard him say that.

He looked down between his legs, fairly pleased to see that the satchel was still under his possession, though it had slipped of of his neck sometime during the fall. That didn't matter much, seeing as he could put it back on... once his legs decided to work again.

He sighed softly, reaching his head down to the flap that kept the contents of satchel in the satchel. With a swift upwards tug, he would remove the magnetic bond holding the flap in place, revealing what had been inside. There would be papers, lots of them, filled to the brim with words which were hand written.

Within these words were messages that no one should've even had the displeasure of viewing, but one way or another it had ended up in the not-so-secure paws of the Ninetales. He was being entrusted to deliver them to someone who had requested them. Apparently it was evidence of some sort, which he hoped was true. That hell hole and all who inhabited it, except for one exception, deserved to die.

But, what were these messages of? And, why were they of such importance? What power did words on paper hold that could've changed the course of many people's lives?


	2. An Interesting Past

**Four months prior...**

* * *

A chilly winter afternoon. The sky was clear, the bright rays of the sun shining down upon the think snow which was laid across the ground. Some would say this was the most peaceful of times, while others would say days like this were ones that were to be avoided. It all depended on personal preference, in all honesty. Running through this snow though, the aforementioned Ninetales would barely be seen, the only difference being a decreased amount of blood, though there was some still there.

He was running from the horrid place that he had finally been able to escape from with the help of a stranger. For some reason, they had chosen him out of all Pokemon to let escape, for which he was truly grateful. But, what exactly had he escaped from? Why was he so happy about it?

* * *

It was about a year ago when it started. When he was put into a deep sleep by a tranquilizer so he could be captured without a fight. It was then were he would've learned the horrid nature of what he was about to, and he wouldn't like one moment of it.

He woke up in a metal crate of some sort, the only light being from the small holes at the top which gave him air to breathe. Instinct kicked in rather quickly, telling him to escape as quick as possible, though there was another feeling that crept on him, slowly taking over that of his instinct. It was despair. Something inside of him said that wherever this was, and whatever was going to happen, it wouldn't be ending for quite awhile.

Instead of trying to escape, he simply sat there, wondering what this was all about. He figured that tests were out of the question; there was nothing particularly special about him, and humans had already had enough information about his species of Pokemon. Breeding didn't seem likely either, seeing as the process - or the attempt of the process - of being captured in a PokeBall wasn't used. That thought made him shutter a bit regardless.

So, what could it have been for?

His question was answered was answered within the next hour. He felt the crate he was entrapped in move, bringing him somewhere else. The only thing he could see passing was the ceiling above the crate, which wasn't able to tell him much about the area. It was white, bland, and the occasional light could be seen passing overhead. The trip was nerve-racking. One, because the person carrying him was absolutely quiet the whole time, the only thing the Ninetales could hear was the person's breathing and footsteps. Two, he had no idea what was going to happen to him still, and he figured he wouldn't find out until it was actually happening.

After a few minutes, the crate was put onto the ground, and whoever was carrying them walked away, their footsteps eventually fading into nothingness.

He was alone again, nothing leaving him to think in silence once again. Or, so he thought. A low his began to ring out throughout the room. He assumed it was some sort of snake-like Pokemon, and decided that they would be better than anything he was going to go through eventually, so he called out to it.

"Hello!?" He cried, worry and panic fairly evident. The hissing would continue, not getting any louder nor quieter, and he began to feel a bit drowsy. He'd find that his legs were shaking slightly, threatening to let him fall to the ground. He didn't quite understand why it was happening, until he realized it too late: He was being put to sleep. He screamed one last time, hoping someone, anyone, would be able to hear him. The darkness consumed his vision before he felt himself fall to the ground as he slipped away from consciousness.

* * *

The Ninetales woke up to something kicking the side of his crate, startling him. "Get up!" Someone yelled, presumably coming from the person who had just kicked the cage. He quickly sat himself up, the cage low height of the cage making his head nearly hit the top of it.

He felt the cage being lifted off the ground once again, except it would be placed on something above the ground relatively quickly, and soon was pushed forward.

A loud roar from a nearby roar took the Ninetales' attention. They seemed to be chanting someone's name, and he eventually made out the name to be 'Ravenger'. That seemed like quite a peculiar name for someone, but he decided not to question it for the moment.

A louder voice would speak over the crowd, most likely coming from a speaker of some sort. "Ladies! Gentlemen! The next fight will now begin!" This would emit a louder roar from the large crowd, and the announcer waited until it died down to speak again. "It's a fight between fresh blood and seasoned veteran! On the blue side, it's the beast herself, Ravenger the Houndoom!"

The crowd would cheer even louder this time, them being the favorable one, he assumed. The announcer didn't wait for them to settle down. "And on the red side, fighting fire with fire, Hunter the Ninetales!"

While he wanted to complain that it wasn't his name, he decided it would be better that he didn't. One side of his crate would be broken open, the sudden light shining in stunning him for a moment. He slowly stepped out, blinking his eyes rapidly to attempt to adjust his eyes to the light.

Once he could see, the sight before him would never escape his head. It was a dirt field, with craters scattered the ground. Around this would be a wall, about ten feet tall, where the seating for what seemed to be a stadium would begin. There, tens of hundreds of seats could be seen all around, all of them filled with humans. The terrifying part? Blood was seen splattered all over the walls, the red easily being seen against the white color of the wall. It was on the dirt below where he stood, though it was much less noticeable there.

Looking across the field, 'Hunter' could see the Pokemon which was announced not long ago. The Houndoom looked fierce, intimidating, and battle scarred. All of this would only make her seem more intimidating.

He took a few steps forward, looking around carefully. He had somewhat of an idea on what was going to happen, but he wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything... special, in store for the two.

While he knew the Houndoom looked intimidating, he also knew that she probably used that to their advantage. He figure that fighting them like he fought any other Pokemon would work out in the end.

He took another few steps, merely thirty meters from the Houndoom now. She was staring at him, a smirk on her face.

"Hey there, hotshot." She uttered rather snidely. "I'll try making it nice and quick for you, alright?" She giggled, getting lower to the ground and into a fighting stance.

He did the same, ready for any sort of attack that was going to be sent towards him. The two would just stare at each other for a minute, before the Ninetales sighed. "You gonna just stand there, or...?"

"Oh? You wanted me to go? Such a gentleman~" She giggled again. "I will kindly take the offer." And with that, she charged at him suddenly. He was vigilant though, quickly sidestepping to the left. Somehow, she had anticipated it, and would end up headbutting him in the side.

He coughed lightly in surprise, taking a few steps back. "Ow..." He muttered to himself. The attack wasn't particularly powerful, but he knew that more blows like that would eventually start hurting and put him down. He needed a way to counter it somehow.

A sigh escaped his lips as the area around the two seemed to grow a tad bit brighter, the sun shining down on the two, and only the two.

"Giving me a spotlight?" The Houndoom teased, feigning a smile. "Aw, thanks. I'll make sure to make you look great too while you get the shit kicked out of you~"

He rolled his eyes at the comment. She was just as confident as she was cocky, and it was somewhat annoying. Maybe he could use that to his advantage somehow. Eh.

What he needed to focus on what how he could injure her. He figured fire-type moves were out of the question, most likely due to flash fire, and psychic was out due to her dark-typing, so that left him somewhat limited. Of course, it didn't help that most of the moves would require him to do a physical attack, which was something he wasn't particularly skilled with. And he wasn't willing to do... _that._ No, that was once everything else has failed

He shook out of his thoughts though, gazing towards the Houndoom. She was just staring at him, a slight tilt to her head. She spoke once she realized he was looking in her direction. "You're a strange little Ninetales, aren't you?" She spoke as if she was surprised. "Most wouldn't be standing now. And to those who would be, they'd would barely be. You, however, seemed to have taken that like nothing happened."

She thought that was a powerful attack? It was... weak, if anything at all. Sure, it hurt a bit at first, but otherwise it didn't affect him very much.

He decided to try and catch her off guard, a suddenly rushed towards her. She seemed to just stare at him until he was within a foot of her, where she would crouch close to the ground, predicting the jump he was about to make.

But, the jump wasn't aimed at her. Rather, he was purposely jumping above her, which she realized too late as nine tails, hard as steel, would come down upon her head and caused her to recoil slightly. 'Hunter' would land behind her, turning himself around slowly.

It would take her a few seconds to recover from the blow, surprised by the amount of pain that had just brought. Almost down in one blow from a Ninetales, she thought. What a way to go. How had that done so much damage to her? Not only was a Ninetales simply not a physical attacker, but she had a natural resistance to the steel-typing. Perhaps, this would be the first time she was truly out skilled by someone way out of her league. She figured it was that, or he had just landed a very powerful critical hit.

Either way, it was something that had sparked her hopes slightly. Maybe, she'd be able to escape the hell that had consumed her over however long she's been there.

She couldn't show them that she wanted this though; they'll end up stopping the fight early so that something like this wouldn't happen, because people would demand that it be taken seriously by both participants. Of course they'll listen, because without the people, there'll be no profit. She'd found that out the hard way, against another opponent who had the same goal as her now. She didn't know why they weren't doing anything at the time. She figured her attack was so powerful to knock all common sense out of them. No, that was far from it.

But, now wasn't the time to dwell on that topic. She had an opponent in front of her, and this opponent she had to treat like every other one, even with the satisfying thought that she was most likely going to die this day.

She stood herself up straight, pleasantly smiling towards the Ninetales. "Someone who's stronger than I am. Far stronger. Good."

This statement left 'Hunter' in confusion. Why was she so happy about him being stronger than he was? Wasn't the point to win the fight? Whatever, at least she admitted it so he didn't have to find out himself. He frowned slightly before responding. "Thanks...?" He uttered uncertainly. Maybe this was a trap of some sort, just to take his guard down for an easy kill. In this case, he'd simply have to try harder because of it.

Without warning, he surged forward, the yelp by the Houndoom suggesting he took her by surprised as his head slammed up into her jaw.

He followed this up by tackling her to the ground, bringing his teeth to her neck while growling lightly. "Give up. You lose." He muttered through her fur, ready to clamp down harder upon her neck if she attempted to do anything.

Ravenger would do nothing but smile, not trying to fight back. "Yes, you do win this fight; now _kill_ me."

What had she just requested? No, 'Hunter' had misheard her. He had to of.

"What did you say?" He questioned quietly, loosening the grip on her neck slightly.

"You heard me correctly the first time, Ninetales. I said _kill me._ "

That was a request he had ever heard from anyone before. Regardless, he wouldn't purposely just, outright kill someone; it was against the high standards that he was committed to.

So instead, he just stood there, refusing to do what she had just asked of him. But, something else seemed to be encouraging him to do so, which is where he remembered that he was being watch through the whole ordeal. The crowd all seemed to be chanting the one thing he didn't want to do, as if it were the only thing he _could_ do.

"Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!" They screamed in unison, their blood lust making itself very apparent. Ravenger would speak up again, where his mind would go back to the Houndoom below him.

"You need to do it either way, Ninetales. If you don't, you and I 'll have to do this again. I know.. you don't want this." She sighed, frowning slightly. "But I do. I've been here too long, done too much, and I'm not getting out until I die. Luckily, that's now for me." Ravenger chuckled weakly. "You're gonna be here for awhile, kid. With the strength you have, and the skill you've mastered, no one here will be able to get you. You're... there's something about you, that's unique. I trust you'll make a difference, for me. For all of us." Her expression turned happy again. "End it, and please make it quick."

'Hunter' was hesitant. He was about to end a person's life, and the fact that it was at their request didn't make it much better for him. As she said though, it was something that was inevitable, and he knew getting it over with now wouldn't been better than delaying it.

He crushed her windpipe with more force, before rearing his head upwards, effectively removing the part from their body. Blood sprayed everywhere, which seemed to gather a great reaction from the crowd. The now dying Houndoom was gurgling on her own blood, causing 'Hunter' to gag on reflex.

But, something else would come upon him soon after: A great wave of shame and guilt. The shame and guilt of killing another creature, even if it was for the benefit of both of them, even if it was at the request of Ravenger, he still felt ashamed of what he's done.

He dropped the piece of flesh beside the dead body, looking into the clouded eyes of the Houndoom, before giving a nod. He knew he would most likely have to do this again in the future, but for now all he wanted to do was sleep. Or curl up. Or sob. Anything but being out here worked for him.

He listened for the crowd again, their reaction being a mix of booing and cheering. He didn't particularly care about that anyways.

He'd frown slightly, focusing on the body in front of him. He saw blood pooling on the ground now, cruelly reminding him of the deed he'd just committed. A loud voice would catch his attention though, bringing his thoughts away from his actions.

"And we have our winner!" The announcer spoke, quieting the crowd slightly. "Overcoming the odds, and going against the crowd favorite, Hunter has come up victorious!" Once again, a mixed reaction came from the crowd, though it was far louder this time.

In fact, it was so loud, the Ninetales was forced to cover his ears from the excessive volume of the chanting.

The announcer would utter something else, but the crowd combined with the Ninetales covering his ears made it impossible to hear. 'Hunter' would take a few steps back from the body, before lying on the ground, his paws still over his ears. Such action made him unable to see, but he wouldn't really care about that.

After a few moments, he felt multiple people picking up, presumably dragging him out of the arena. He didn't bother to struggle out of their grip, too caught up with his emotions and thoughts.

They whispered amongst themselves as he was carried, though he didn't bother to listen. Eventually, he was put down - well, more like thrown - inside of the crate he found himself in previously. They would shut it quickly after, leaving the Ninetales in near total darkness. Not like he complained about it, though. The darkness and silence gave him time to think about what he's done, and why he's done it.

* * *

For the next day or two, - or so he thought it was that long, - absolutely nothing would happen. They would keep him isolated the whole time, and the only contact near any intelligible life-forms was when he was carried to a different area, which wasn't particularly often. He'd also be fed every so often, but generally when he was asleep. They'd sneak a food and water bowl into the crate as he slept, which he gratefully accepted. Of course, the food was something meant for dogs, and the water given to him was warm, but it was better than nothing at all.

He'd be forced to fight again. Multiple times after the first did it happen. It would be ridiculously easy each time, and each time the Pokemon he killed thanked him for getting him out of their hell. Eventually, the guilt and shame of killing went away altogether, being replaced with a long, almost never ceasing boredom. The only time interest came to him was when he got to battle, and even then if was something that was rather dull.

Many months would pass, each day like the last. Contact with people was rare, and was only something which happened on the battlefield. The people who carried his crate would never speak, and now he was put to sleep whenever he'd finish a battle.

One day would be different from the rest, though. He had just put another Pokemon out of their misery, this one being a Sandslash, and was awakening after being knocked out once again. 'Hunter' could hear the breathing of someone nearby, though that was really it. This was different from most other times, though. Most of the time, he'd simply be left alone for a few hours before getting dragged off to somewhere else; the person being there would interest him somewhat.

Due do him being in a crate, seeing them would be a problem, and vice versa, meaning they would never be able to know when he was awake unless he was to indicate it some way or another. So, he would by scratching the side of the side, which the being outside the crate quickly shushed him.

"Hey, be quiet..." A male muttered, before letting out a sigh. "At least you're awake now. Here... don't tell anyone that I gave you this."

'Hunter' would notice something being shoved through the air holes at the top of his crate, it being a small square-shaped object. Upon further inspection, it seemed to be.. a meat of some sort. He sniffed it for a moment, before gobbling it up. It tasted amazing. At least, compared to what he had been eating for the last while. It caused him to smile slightly; at least someone cared about him enough to give him something different to eat.

A few more cubes would be pushed into the crate, to which 'Hunter' happily ate. A thought hit him as he finished the last one though: Why had this person been feeding him in the first place?

Well, that didn't particularly bother him either way. If it was to kill him, that was fine; he'd be able to escape like he let all the others do. If this person was trying to be genuinely kind, well, the behavior confused him slightly. Why would any of these scummy humans want to treat him well? He knew that he shouldn't judge most by what only some have done to him, but this person was in the same place he was, and humans here were all shit, so he felt that it was justified to think what he thought.

The human spoke up once more, dragging him away from his thoughts. "Look, Ninetales, I want to help you, alright? Though, I want to help someone else at at the same time, but chances are you two aren't going to be battling anytime soon. That's a problem, because I want to get you both out at the same time." His voice was at a whisper, being cautious in case there was anyone else around. He went quiet for a moment before speaking up once more. "If they know one's gone, they'll put the place on lockdown, and they'll heighten security just so it doesn't happen again. I think you can understand this."

'Hunter' nodded, though he knew that they probably weren't able to see it. He continued regardless. "I really don't know, but you definitely seem like more of the intelligent type. That's what your species is pretty well known for too, so I hope I'm not placing my trust in the wrong spot. I.. need to go now, before they know I'm here. Goodbye." With that, footsteps were heard moving away from the crate. He figured he had to trust him; it was his only chance for freedom.

* * *

For the next few months, the human would visit him nearly every day, speaking of information that no one was ever supposed to reveal. 'Hunter' would listen quietly, but never said anything himself, not actually knowing whether they were to be trusted or not. The human seemed to understand this, and actually seemed to encourage it somewhat.

Regardless of that, the human revealed many horrifying things about where they were. He told of how the organization started as a small group of people, betting small amounts of money on letting two wild Pokemon fight to the death. Though, it grew bigger as time went on, more and more people partaking in the event. Eventually, it became evident to the original founders that they could make more profit on the fights if they outright charged people on it, so that's what they did. It was an underground sport that seemingly crazy people enjoyed.

They eventually found an abandoned stadium out in the middle of nowhere to use, no one knowing why it was there or how it came to be. The original founders took advantage of it though, using it as a place for the people to meet up to observe the battle from a more aesthetically pleasing view. It helped on the profits of their business very much.

They were sneaky about it. Extremely sneaky. Even if someone ratted them out, the authorities would never be able to get the proof to charge the men behind it. The rat would be killed 'mysteriously' within the next few days.

Who exactly were these men behind it, though? Well, the human explained that the CEO was a large man named Charles Brownhail, and he wasn't someone you'd want to get on your bad side. He's the backbone of the operation though, providing leadership to those who need a leader. Most don't see anything wrong with him leading, though the ones who do have learned to keep their mouth shut and go along with it, because some serious shit would happen otherwise. He was also experienced with this type of business, only making him harder to take down.

The human next talked about his right hand man: Fenn Forper, though he had somehow acquired the nickname 'Hawk'. The human claimed not to know how or why that came to be, but he explained that no one except Charles will call him Fenn, as no one's as close to Hawk is he is. Hawk would be the one who takes over if something were to happen to Charles.

There wasn't anyone else significant that the human said was worth mentioning, so he kept to those two people for the time being. He explained everything he knew about them to the Ninetales, each time he would listen intently to what the human had to say. He found it somewhat peculiar that he was being told this, out of all people, though he knew best not to question it for fear of his own safety.

The human told of how this had been going one for quite awhile, perhaps nearing the one decade anniversary in the near future. Hundreds upon thousands of Pokemon's lives have been taken from this event, most of them captured from the wild and forced to fight they didn't want to fight. The human claimed he didn't want any of this to happen in the first place. The only reason he joined this... organization, was because he wanted to help out the Pokemon that were in need. The only problem was that he hadn't found anyone strong enough yet.

Of course, not long ago, Ravenger would've been his best choice, but ever since 'Hunter' and another competitor have been introduced into the cycle, his had changed his mind about who he was going to eventually get out. But, once again, he brought up the aforementioned problem with that. It frustrated him slightly, but he knew they would be fighting eventually. When that time came, the human promised he would have everything the two needed to escape, though he would say that chances were that they weren't going to see each other.

After passing information to the Ninetales for a few months, the human would pass on rather good news to him: He would be fighting the other Pokemon the next day, and that day would be the one that sets the Ninetales free.

* * *

I know I said every other week, but this one took a bit longer than expected. Though, I think that nearly triple the size of the first one will make up for it somehow. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed.


	3. The Escape

The Ninetales smiled brightly to himself as the news hit his ears. Finally! Today was the day he regained his freedom!

"So, listen," The human spoke, his voice quiet with a hint of excitement. "I can't explain much now, so I'll tell you this: It's going to be the same as before, until we reach the point after your crate's been lifted. The crate'll be opened from the opposite side it normally is the second the coast is clear. Just, promise me you won't try killing me, and we'll get this done fairly easily." They would pat the top of the crate. "Alright, it's time."

He would be knocked out through the usual means, and the way he awoke would be the like all the others, with someone kicking the side of the crate. "Mutt, you're up." Someone would say, though it would be from someone who he had never heard from before. Whether it was someone new or something, it wouldn't matter much. Like normal, he felt the crate being lifted into the air, before quickly being placed onto something above the ground. The crowd and announcer could easily be heard at this point, but for the most part he ignored that.

He listened for the footsteps of the people leaving the area, and then he would wait. It took a minute, but eventually one set was heard walking back into the room, specifically towards the crate that he was trapped him. The distinct jiggling of keys were heard as the human brought them to the crate, and a loud 'click' was heard. Slowly, a door located on the back of the crate would be opened, human and Ninetales staring each other in what most would assume was slight aggression, but they both knew that it wasn't anything close to this. No, it was respect.

The human would be around 5'10", fairly skinny for someone of his size. They would be wearing a pair of denim jeans along with a gray jacket; nothing too flashy. His hair and eyes would be a matching brown, though something about his eyes were... special. They seemed to have a shine to them that made them different.

"Hello, Ninetales." He'd greet, taking a step back. The familiarity of the voice brought a smile to 'Hunter's' face. "We don't have much time, so I'll just explain everything now so you can go." He cleared his throat before continuing. "There's not much to it, really. Behind me, there's two doors. One heads deeper into the stadium - the one on the left - and one is an exit for this place. Go out that one, and just run. Run until you can't run no more."  
"But, before you go, I have a request." A request? This seemed odd to the Ninetales, but he allowed the human to continue anyways, "I.. don't want to be seen as a part of this. I would've tried stopping this myself, but I already told you what's happened in the past. That's why I need the help of someone who's not only been here themselves, but also has the strength to protect themselves from the Pokemon that Charles will end up sending. That's why I picked you."

"This is going to sound.. selfish, yeah, but it's part of the reason why I'm doing this. I want you to tell someone, _anyone_ , about this. Whoever you tell, I want you to tell them about me. Like I said, I never wanted to be a part of this. Ever." The human sighed to himself. "My name's... Chad. Chad Kiope. I've, at least attempted to associate myself with all the Pokemon here, and most of them seem to like me more than anyone else. I don't just want this for myself, Ninetales. I want to get all of them out."

The Ninetales nodded at this, speaking up for the first time. Something which would surprise Chad would be that he spoke fluent English, unlike most Pokemon would. "I appreciate the help." He uttered, a smile slowly growing over his face. "And, please, call me Caliber." He held his paw out to Chad, gesturing for a shake

"I figured they just made up some stupid name.." Chad muttered, reaching out to Caliber's paw with his hand. "Pleasure to be able to meet you up close." They shook each others figures firmly, before retracting them to their sides. "Now go, Caliber. The other Pokemon has probably escaped by this point. I don't want them figuring things out before you have a chance to leave."

Caliber stood up, hoping out of the crate which he had grown all too familiar with. Chad only stepped aside to let the Ninetales pass. Cal made a brisk walk to the door towards the other side of the room. Opening the door with his paw, he was blinded by the usual outdoors. Though, instead of the stadium coming into view like it normally would, it was the great outdoors, with snow-covered trees along with the thick coated ground. It was more beautiful than Cali remembered it, though that probably had something to do with the fact that he hadn't seen it for about a year at this point.

The Ninetales was frozen in awe for a few moments, staring at the forest that would save him from the nightmare which had ensnared and consumed him. After he had recovered, he took slow, small steps into the open.

"Goodbye, Caliber." Chad's voice called from the doorway. "I hope we meet again at some point, hopefully under the same side like today."

And with that statement, Caliber ran. Dead sprint through the snow. Though, the further he ran into the forest, the deeper the snow seemed to get. Eventually, it was nearly impossible to see with the snow and whiplash. It was so hard to see, in fact, that he had ran into a resting local Pokemon, disturbing them from their slumbering.

The Ninetales stepped back in recoil, not expecting the sudden.. thing, to be there. Shaking his head to recover, Caliber looked up to them, noticing that whatever they were, they were quite the tall creature. Maybe a bit chubby too. He'd have to wipe his eyes to clearly see who they were, and standing there was a Dragonite, an annoyed look across their face.

Well, there goes escape. The Ninetales figured he was going to die regardless from this creature. He let out a light whimper, taking a step back. Not like he could escape anyways, so trying didn't seem worth it to him. Instead, he would wait for the inevitable pain to come, though.. it never would. Instead, when he looked up again, the Dragonite only had a small frown on their face, scanning the Ninetales' body. Obviously, something didn't seem particularly right to them.

"Hey," The female said, her voice surprisingly smooth for what one would assume for her appearance. "What happened to you?"

That was a question that Ninetales wasn't exactly expected from the dragon. Moving his gaze to himself, he noticed the blood that was caked in his fur, mixed in with what seemed to be dirt and grime of some sort. Ew. Many scratches were also apparent, and patches of fur would be missing in certain places. All in all, he looked horrible.

"Well..." He sighed softly, shaking his head. He needed to at least get this out to someone. At the very least, at least this person didn't seem like they wanted to kill him brutally.

Though, getting somewhere safer was should've probably been first priority. He glanced by up to the Dragonite for a moment, before glancing behind himself. He hadn't gotten quite far away enough from the facility, had he? This was probably a good opportunity to do both. "Here, follow me, I just need to get away from here. I can explain on the way."

The Dragonite didn't do anything for a moment, weighing her current options, though eventually she shook her head. "No, you follow me. If it's somewhere you need to hide, I got the place for you. You can still explain on our way."

That seemed better than running aimlessly, really. That, and this Dragonite was the firs- second person he could say he trusted after he had gotten out, even if he didn't know them particularly well. After all, they were the second person he met in the last year that seemed to actually care about his physical - and possibly mental - health.

The Dragonite didn't bother seeing if he was going to follow or not. Instead, she stood herself up, and began walking in the direction Caliber was previously running in, though it seemed she was going fairly slow, even for a Pokemon of her size. Caliber figured this was his sign to follow though, so he did as such.

Cali began to explain the process of the last few chapters, starting from when he had been subdued and captured following up to the point he had run into her. During the time, she seemed to be listening the whole time, nodded subtly throughout the explanation of the story. She seemed to be, at the very least, somewhat intrigued by it, so Caliber assumed it was a good thing.

"...And then I ran into you." He uttered slowly, finishing the tale that he had to tell. She gave a bigger nod than before, staying quiet for a moment. That had been, a fairly interesting story. At the least, it was something that she hadn't heard before. Something he mentioned though, it brought a smirk over her face.

"So, you say you've killed some Pokemon, while you were at this place, right?" She asked calmly, though she couldn't quite help hiding the smirk that was beginning to form on her face.

Cal wasn't expecting that question, to say the very least. It was an essential part of what happened though, so he assumed there wouldn't be anything wrong with confirming this. "Unfortunately.. yeah. I've done a lot more than I want to say I've done. Doesn't help when you're forced to do it, though." He sighed softly, closing his eyes for a moment. "I just want to pretend that it never happened, and move on, but I don't think that's gonna happen any time soon."

The Dragonite nodded at this, though she was only half listening to whatever he had said this time around. Her mind was on.. different things. "Hmph, you'll fit in just fine with the others then. Tell me, my friend, do you enjoy the presence of other friendly Pokemon?"

Well, there was an obvious answer to that, wasn't there? "Well, sure. I mean... I don't know how I'll act, being socially isolated and all for about a year, but I think it won't be that bad." Wait, there were gonna be other Pokemon?

She would interrupt him, not allowing him to ask his next question. Though, she felt as the extra information wasn't necessary, but it was probably just part of what he was talking about. She nodded. "Of course. That's fairly reasonable."

Running out of things to talk about - at least for a small bit of time, the duo would walk in silence. The Dragonite glanced at Cal for a moment, a slight frown on her face in confusion. Something she had learned from her acquaintance had confused her slightly: If Vulpix evolve from a fire stone, how had this creature become a Ninetales? Well, there was only one way to find out. "Caliber, your species evolve from a fire stone, correct?" He nodded, so she continued. "And, before you were captured, you were a wild Pokemon, right?" Again, he nodded. "So, how did one like yourself evolve?"

"Um... well, to be honest, I just sort of found it, and had no idea what it did. When I touched it, I just.. evolved. Not like I regret it, though."

Valid enough, thought the Dragonite. Wasn't something that she was about to question. Not like she had a need to, anyways. "Well, come along then. We've just about reached our destination."

If he were to be honest, Caliber was quite excited about seeing some new people for the first time in awhile. At least, those who he wasn't going to be forced to kill, or those who wanted to kill him. It was something he was only dreaming of while he was entrapped for the last while.

The duo would end up near what seemed to be a mountainous area with caves scattered about, but t

here didn't appear to be anything in particular to distinguish one cave from one another. With a frown, Caliber looked up to the Dragonite. "Where.. which one is the one that's yours?"

"Follow me." She replied bluntly, turning left as they reached the base of the cliff. They would eventually wander into a small path through the side of the mountain. Though, it would require one to climb up quite a bit to reach it. To save them a bit of time, the Dragonite would simply fly Caliber up to the path, where they would land on a small platform. The path they walked upon appeared thin, wide enough only for them to walk single file through it. The reasoning for it was simple: If anyone were to want to attack them, the Dragonite explained, there would be no easy way in.

Jagged rocks were on either side of them, the tips of them threatening to jab them if they were to step to close. Small rocks on the ground in front of them made them watch their step more carefully. Well, Cali would at least have to. The Dragonite flapped their wings lightly, allowing them to hover above the ground slightly. It surprised the Ninetales slightly how such a large creature could have floated above the ground like that.

"There used to be some caves small here, that led to a few of the other caves we saw as we approached the mountains." She would rather randomly, glancing back at the Ninetales. "They were sealed off by us though. It's just another precautionary measure that we use in case we're attacked by anything; it makes it more difficult to get to us."

She seemed to worry greatly about safety of the entire area, almost as if they were in danger of being attacked already. It was something he would question later. For the moment, he simply focused on not getting pierced by the rocks around him.

The duo would travel the winding path for a matter of minutes, before the sight of a cave entrance appeared ahead. At this, the Dragonite smiled, gazing back at Caliber. "Almost there, my friend. Just a bit further."

Slowly, the anticipation grew for the fox-like creature. He was about to meet some new Pokemon. Some that would actually be friendly to him. And, unbeknownst to him, they would change his life. A bit for the better, though a bit for the worse. How so? You'll find out soon enough.

* * *

This is very, very late, yes. But school's been getting me my was as of recent, but it's getting better now. I won't be able to stick to the every other week process (probably), so I don't know how long between each chapter these are going to be. I apologize for the inconvenience, and hope you enjoyed.


End file.
